Wardrobe suitcase



Feb. 20, A. 55 1,947,838

- WARDROBE SUITCASE Filed April 27, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 20, 1934.A. FISS 1,947,838

WARDROBEYSUITCASE Filed April 27, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb.20, 1934 1,947,838 '1 T OFFICE UNITED STATES PAT WARDROBE SUITCASE.Albert Fiss, St. Louis, Mo.

Application April 27, 1931. Serial No. 533,098

19 Claims. (01. 190-41) This invention relates to wardrobe suit casesconstruction and arrangement of the hinged and has special reference toequipment for use frame. in suit cases for holding mens and womens Fig.8 is a view showing the end of the frame clothing in a manner to preventthe formation detached from the support to which it is hinged. ofwrinkles and to maintain the clothing in a Fig. 9 is a perspective viewshowing a portion condition to be worn without re-pressing. of thegarment supporting end of the frame.

An object of the invention is to provide a con- The case shown in Figs.1 to 3, inclusive, and veniently portable luggage case or suit casehavin which the present invention is embodied coming therein a hingedframe provided with a foldprises walls forming a body portion 1 having aloop w ing member around which the garments may be handle 2 pivoted toone side wall thereof and folded in a manner to prevent the formation ofwalls forming a top or lid portion 3 having one wrinkles, and whichfolding member cooperates side connected with the side of the bodyportion with the remaining elements of the invention to 1 by hinges 4.The hinges 4 connect the top or prevent the clothing from creeping andfrom lid portion 3 with the wall of the body portion 1 5 becoming waddedor massed in such a way as to thatis opposite from the wall to which thehandle destroy the pressed condition of the clothing. 2 is attached.Locking and latching elements By this construction and arrangement, thecloth- 5 on that wall of the body 1 to which the handle 2 ing ismaintained in a freshly pressed condiis secured are designed andarranged to be ention ready for wear without the necessity of begagedwith cooperating locking and latching eleing re-pressed or ,re-ironedwhen removed from ments 6 on the corresponding wall of the top or '75the case. lid 3 in order to hold the suit case closed.

Other objects of the invention are to provide A wall 7 having a lengthand width approxiimproved means for supp r 008138 d the mately equal tothe inside length and width of like and for fold the Coats in a W y oprevent the suit case has its rear edge connected with I 535 theformation of wrinkles, and also to pr v d the rear or hinged wall of thelid 3 by a hinge detachably secured in connection with the suit case.and adapted to be Seated against the upwardly improved means forsupporting Women's garvice 8, which permits the wall 7 to be moved withments in a way to p e the formation of or independently of the lid 3, asdesired. By Wrinkles; to provide attachments for supporting thisconstruction, the wall 7 may rest flat upon the invention in conn ct wit Suit C in the body portion 1 of. the suit case when the lid Such a W yas to Obtain the necessary room and 3 is opened, or the wall 7 may bemoved along space for the invention without interfering with t t 11 3,or i ll 7 may be moved t the usual conveniences of the suit case; and toany intermediate position,

obtain all of the other advantages and useful The wall 7 cooperates withadditional walls that H fects herein disclosed, refere ce being made toconstitute a frame in such a way as to form, with the accompa ydrawings, in Which said additional walls, a tray or compartment 1 is aPerspective View of an Open 51111? case The additional walls mentionedcomprise a rear sontaining an embodiment of the Present inven- Wall 9,side walls 10 having their rear ends contionnected with the ends of thewall 9, and a bar 2 is a Vertical cross-Sectional View of the 11 havingits ends attached to the walls 10, or the suit case showing difierentfeatures of the Presfront ends of said walls 10, by means of angular eminvention in operated posmmfl brackets 12. The lower edges of the walls10 3 is an enlarged Sectional View Showing are designed and adapted toseat upon the marother features of the invention including the deginalportions of the Wall The front edge of Vice which the garment hOlder maybe the wall '7 is hinged to a wall 13 that is designed Fig. 4 is aperspective view showing a portion nd rearwar d1 y inclined ends 14 ofthe walls 10. of the frame whereby the garments are maina 1 tained incondition for wear without re-pressing. The f i i 3 5 }:ig fgg g ig g gggg d Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an open suit case m 5 351g 9 a 1150 showing an attachment for use in supporting with fasteners 16 on thefront surface of the wa womens garments, such as dresses and skirts. 13when the Wall 13 1S Seated agamst the Fig. 6 is a verticalcross-sectional view of a dined ends 14 of the l gi s, t w embod in theinvention shown in y be h81d in Connefl 101m W1 9 a sult case y gscribed in such a way as to cooperate with said Fig. 5. Y Fig. '7 is anenlarged detail view showing the frame to provlde a o p r tray- Hinges17 are attached to the wall 9 and in connection therewith fastenersdesigned and adapted to be detachably connected with coopcratingfasteners 19 on the hinge extension 8 of the wall 7. Thus, the framecomprising the meinbers 9, 10 and 11 may be hinged to the rear wall ofthe lid 3 for movement with said lid or independently of said lid. Also,said frame comprising said members 9, 10 and 11 is capable of movementwith or independently of the wall '7. In order to move the frameindependently of the wall 7, it is necessary only to release thefasteners 15 from the cooperating fastener members 16. As shown, thefasteners 16 are ball elements de signed and adapted to be releasablyengaged by socket elements 20 on the fastener members 15. A springbracket 21 is attached to the rear wall frame member 9 in such a way asto be releasably engaged by a frame 22 attached to a coat hanger ofconventional or any desired con struction. Th coat hanger frame 22 beeasily detached from and engaged with the bracket 21 in order tofacilitate and expedite the placing of coats 24 and other garments uponor in connection with the hanger the subsequent attachment of the hangerto the bracket 21, or the removal of the hanger from connection with thebracket 21 to permit the removal of the garments from the hanger.

A satisfactory method of use of this invention is to detach the hangerfrom the bracket 21; place the garments in connection with the hanger inthe usual and familiar way; connect the hanger with the bracket 21 so asto prevent the hanger from slipping out of place; fold the garmentsalong the pressed creased lines; detach the wall 7 from the walls 10;raise the frame 9, 19, 11 from the line 7; drape the garments about andagainst and along the frame member 11 so as to extend the loose ends ofthe garments backwardly under the forwardly extended portions withoutthe formation of any undesired creases or wrinkles; raise the wall 7into contact with the walls 10 so as to hold the garments in properposi- 3 tion without the formation of wrinkles and undesired creases;and then attach the fastener members 15 to the fastener member 16 so asto form a tray or compartment in which the garments mentioned arecontained and held in proper position to prevent the formation ofundesired creases and wrinkles.

The invention may be varied as shown in Figs. 5 to 9, inclusive, of thedrawings. As there shown, the invention is embodied in a suit casecomprising walls forming a body portion 25 having a loop handle 26pivoted to one side wall thereof, and walls forming a top or lid portion27 having one side connected with the side of the body portion 25 byhinges 23. The hinges 28 connect the top or lid portion 27 with the wallof the body portion 25 that is opposite from the wall to which thehandle 26 is attached. Locking and latching elements 29 on that wall ofthe body portion 25 to which the handle 33 is secured are designed andarranged to be engaged with cooperating looking and latchin elements 30on the corresponding wall of the top or li 27 in order to hold the suitcase closed.

A wall 31 having a length and width approximately equal to the insidelength and width of the suit case has its rear edge connected with therear or hinged wall of the lid 27 by a hinge device 32 which permits theWall 31 to be moved with or independently of the lid 27, as desired.

The wall 31 cooperates with additional Walls that constitute a framesuch a way as to form, with said additional walls, a tray orcompartment. The additional walls mentioned comprise a rear wall 33,side walls 34 having their rear ends connected with the ends of the wall33, and a bar 35 having its ends attached to the walls 34 by means of anular brackets 36. The lower edges of the walls 34 are designed andadapted to seat upon the marginal portions of the wall 31. The frontedge of the wall 31 is hinged to a wall 37 that is designed and adaptedto be seated against the upwardly and rearwardly inclined ends 38 of thewalls 34. The walls 34 are equipped with flexible latch elements 39 desined and adapted to be engaged with fasteners 40 on the front surface ofthe wall 37 when the wall 37 is seated against the inclined ends 38 ofthe walls 34. Thus, he wall 31 may be held in connection with the framedescribed in such a way as to cooperate with said frame to provide acompartment or tray. Hinges 41 are attached to the wall 33 and have inconnection therewith fasteners 42 designed and adapted to be releasablyengaged with the hinged extension 32 of the wall 31. Thus, the framecomprising the members 33, 34 and 35 may be hinged to the rear wall ofthe lid 27 for move ment with said lid or independently of said lid.Also, said frame comprising said members 33, 34 and 35 is capable ofmovement with or independently of the wall 31. In order to move theframe independently of the wall 31, it is necessary only to release thefasteners 39 from the cooperating fastener members 40. As shown, thefasteners 40 are ball elements designed and adapted to be releasablyengaged by socket elements 43 on the fastener members 39.

A garment holder frame comprising side members 44 and a transversemember 45 is pivotally connected with the walls 34 by brackets 46 attaohed to the frame members 44 and mounted on pivots 47 opposite theends of the bar 35. This permits the frame to be folded over into thecompartment or tray formed by the walls 33 and 34 in cooperation withthe wall 31, or to be turned to any other position, including an outwardly extended position as shown in Fig. 6. In the outwardly extendedposition shown in Fig. 6, the end portions 48 of the frame members 44.-abut against the undersides of the brackets 36 and thus support theframe in its outwardly extended position. This is a great conveniencebecause, in this way, the suit case can be mounted on a table 49, asindicated in Fig. 6, and the garment supporting frame can be extendedoutwardly and supported in its outwardly extended position to facilitateand expedite the placement and removal of garments.

Garments may conveniently be placed on this outwardly extended frame ina manner that is obvious by reference to Fig. 6 of the drawings, afterwhich the frame can be folded over into the compartment. After the frameis folded over into the compartment, the wall 37 may be moved toposition against the inclined ends 38 of the walls 34 and attached tosaid walls 34 by engaging the socket members 43 with the ball members40. In case the garment is of such length as to require re-folding inorder to be placed in the receptacle or tray, this re-folding can beeasily effected by the operation clearly indicated in Fig. 5, whichconsists in raising the front ends of the members 34 so as to permit thedownwardly extended ends of the garment to be extended rearwardly uponthe wall 31. Thus, the garment is folded additionally against and aboutthe bar 35 after which the pivoted frame 4445 is swung rearwardly anddownwardly to complete the placement of the garment in position topermit the wall 37 to be attached to the ends of the Walls 34, asalready described. The end of the swinging frame 4445 has disc members50 attached thereto so as to seat upon the rear portion of the wall 31and thus support the swinging frame 44-45 in a position so that thegarment will not be crushed at any portion or place. On the contrary,the garment is loosely supported, but with suiiicient pressure toprevent the garment from slipping out of place and becoming wadded ormassed.

In" both forms of the invention shown, the lid of the suit case isequipped with a flexible fastener member 51 having a socket 52 designedand adapted to engage with a fastener member 53 in connection with thewall 7 (Fig. 2) and wall 31 (Fig. 6). Thus, the special compartmentembodying the present invention may be supported in connection with thelid of the suit case and moved with the lid of the suit case to openposition when access is desired to the lower portion of the suit case.Obviously, detachment of the fastener device 51 from the fastener device53 will permit the special compartment of the present invention to beswung downwardly onto the body of the suit case.

Both walls 7 and 31 are detachably connected with the respective suitcase lids, so that either suit case may be readily transformed andchanged from a suit case adapted for mens clothing, as shown on sheet 1of the drawings, to a suit case adapted for womens clothing, as shown onsheet 2 of the drawings. Either form of the invention may be detachedand substituted for the other so as to change the construction for usewith men's clothing to a construction for use with womens clothing, andvice versa.

It is now clear that my invention provides means whereby various typesof garments may be easily transported in suit cases without causing thegarments to become wrinkled or to assume any condition unsuitable forwear. Freshly pressed garments may easily be placed in this suit caseand maintained in a freshly pressed condition ready and suitable forwear for a considerable period of time.

The construction and arrangement of the invention may be varied withinthe scope of equivalent limits without departure from the nature andprinciple thereof. I do not restrict myself in any unessential respects,but what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a wardrobe suit case, a series of walls forming a compartment, anelement connected with said compartment for supporting garments, a barextending across said compartment and spaced from one of said walls inposition to permit the garments to be folded around said bar, and meanspivotally connecting said compartment with the rear of the suit case.

2. In a wardrobe suit case having a body and a lid hinged to said body,a wall hinged to the inside of the rear of said lid, enclosing wallscooperative with said first wall to form a receptacle, hinges connectingsaid enclosing walls with the inside of the rear of the lid of the suitcase, and means for holding said enclosing walls in cooperative relationwith said first wall.

3. In a wardrobe suit case having a body and a lid hinged to said body,a wall hinged to the inside of the rear of said lid, enclosing wallscooperative with said first wall to form a receptacle,

hinges connecting said enclosing walls with the inside of the rear ofthe lid of the suit case, means for holding said enclosing walls incooperative relation with said first wall, a garment hanger devicemovable into and out of said receptacle for holding a portion of thegarment at the rear of the receptacle, and a fold bar for the garmentextending across the front of said receptacle.

4. In a suit case having a body and a lid hinged to the rear of thebody, a wall hinged to the inside of the rear of said lid, enclosingwalls cooperating with said hinged wall to form a receptacle adapted tobe enclosed in the lid of the suit case, detachable means hinging saidenclosing walls in connection with the inside of the rear of the lid,and detachable means for holding said receptacle within the lid.

5. In a suit case having a body and a lid hinged to the rear of thebody, a wall hinged to the inside of the rear of said lid, enclosingwalls cooperating with said hinged wall to form a receptacle adapted tobe enclosed in the lid of the suit case, detachable means hinging saidenclosing walls in connection with the inside of the rear of the lid,detachable means for holding said receptacle within the lid, anddetachable means holding said hinged and said enclosing walls of saidreceptacle in cooperative relation to each other.

6. In a suit case having a body and a lid hinged to the rear of thebody, walls forming a receptacle adapted to be enclosed in the lid ofthe suit case, detachable means hinging said receptacle to the inside ofthe rear of the lid, detachable means for holding said receptacle withinthe lid, detachable means holding said walls of said receptacle incooperative relation to each other, and a garment folding bar extendingacross said receptacle.

'7. In a suit case having a body and a lid hinged to the rear of thebody, walls forming a compartment adapted to be enclosed in the lid ofthe suit case, hinges holding said compartment in pivoted connectionwith the inside of the rear of the lid, detachable means for holdingsaid compartment within the lid, and elements in said compartment forholding garments folded in a definite relationship.

8. In a wardrobe suit case having a body and a. lid hinged to said body,a wall hinged to the inside of the rear of the lid, enclosing wallscooperative with said first wall to form a compartment, detachable meansfor holding said enclosing walls in cooperative relationship with saidfirst wall, and means for holding said compartment within the lid.

9. In a wardrobe suit case having a body and a lid hinged to said body,a wall hinged to the inside of the rear of said lid, enclosing wallscoop-,- erative with said first wall to form a compartment, meanshinging said enclosing walls to the inside of the rear of said lid formovement with or independently of said first wall, and detachable meansfor supporting said compartment within said lid.

10. In a wardrobe suit case having a body and a lid hinged to said body,a wall hinged to the inside of the rear of said lid, enclosing wallscooperative with said first wall to form a compartment, means hingingsaid enclosing walls to the inside of the rear of said lid for movementwith or independently of said first wall, detachable means forsupporting said compartment within said lid, and elements supportedwithin said compartment for supporting garments folded in a prearrangedrelationship.

11. In a wardrobe suit case having a body and a lid hinged to said body,walls forming a compartment, means hin ing the rear of said compartmentto the inside of the rear of said lid, a frame hinged within saidcompartment, and means for supporting said frame extended beyond saidcompartment.

12. In a wardrobe suit case, a bottom wall for a compartment, side wallsfor said compartment supported in hinged relationship to said bottomwall, a front wall for said compartment hinged to said bottom wall,means for supporting said front wall incooperative relationship to saidside walls of said compartment, a frame, and means pivotally supportingsaid frame near the front of said compartment for swinging movementsrearwardly into said compartment or forwardly to extend beyond saidcompartment, as desired.

13. In a wardrobe suit case, a bottom wall for a compartment, side wallsfor said compartment supported in hinged relationship to said bottomwall, a front wall for said compartment hinged to said bottom wall,means for supporting said front wall in cooperative relationship to saidside walls of said compartment, a frame, means pivotally supporting saidframe near the front of said compartment for swinging movementsrearwardly into said compartment or forwardly to extend beyond saidcompartment, as desired, and means for supporting said frame extendedforwardly beyond said compartment.

14. In a wardrobe suit case, a bottom wall for a compartment, rear andside walls for said compartment pivotally connected with said bottomwall, a front wall for said compartment pivotally connected with saidbottom wall, detachable means for holding said front wall in cooperativerelationship to said side and bottom walls, and a bar extending betweenthe front portions of said side walls above said bottom wall.

15. In a wardrobe suit case, a bottom wall for a compartment, rear andside walls for said cornpartment pivotally connected with said bottomwall, a front wall for said compartment pivotally connected with saidbottom wall, detachable means for holding said front wall in cooperativerelationship to said side and bottom walls, a bar extending between thefront portions of said side walls above said bottom wall, and meanscooperating with said bar to hold a garment in said compartment inproper prefolded arrangement.

16. In a wardrobe suit case having a body section and a lid sectionhinged to said body section, a wall hinged to the inside of the rear ofone of said sections, a pair of spaced members mounted between said walland the top of said lid and each having one end hinged to the inside ofthe rear of said lid, a bar connecting the opposite ends of said membersand cooperating therewith to form an open frame, detachable means forsecuring said wall to said members, and means pivoted to said membersadjacent to said bar and cooperating with said bar to form an open frameand being movable from outwardly extended position beyond said bar toposition extending from said bar toward the rear of the lid.

17. In a wardrobe suit case having a body section and a lid sectionhaving its rear portion hinged to the rear of said body section, membersforming an open frame hinged to the rear of one of said sections andextending toward the front of the suit case, a wall having its rear edgehinged to the inside of one of said sections for swinging movements withor apart from said members, means detachably connecting said wall withsaid members, and members hinged to the front end of said frame andcooperating therewith to form an additional frame movable to outwardlyextended position beyond said first frame and to position extendingrearwardly from the front of said first frame to the rear of the suitcase.

18. In a wardrobe suit case having a body section and a lid sectionhaving its rear portion hinged to the rear of said body section, membersforming an open frame hinged to the rear of one of said sections andextending toward the front of the suit case, a wall having its rear edgehinged to the inside of one of said sections for swinging movements withor apart from said members, means for detachably connecting said wallwith said members, members hinged to the front end of said frame andcooperating therewith to form an additional frame movable to outwardlyextended position beyond said first frame and to position extendingrearwardly from the front of said first frame to the rear of the suitcase, and means for supporting said second frame in outwardly extendedposition beyond said first frame.

19. In a wardrobe suit case having a body and a lid having its rearportion hinged to the rear of said body, members forming an open framehinged to the rear of said lid and extending toward the front of thesuit case, members hinged to the front end of said frame and cooperatingtherewith to form an additional frame movable to outwardly extendedposition beyond said first frame and to position extending rearwardlyfrom the front of said first frame to the rear of the suit case, meansfor supporting said second frame in outwardly extended position beyondsaid first frame, a wall cooperating with said first frame to form anenclosure within said first frame, and detachable means for ecuring saidwall to said first frame.

ALBERT F188.

